Mankind's greatest adventure is remembered for the digital age. The DVD format changed the way we look at movies and especially TV series, with massive complete-season sets. That concept is spectacularly taken one-step fur... more &raquother with Spacecraft Films' definitive collections of the Gemini and Apollo space missions, stuffing in nearly every scrap of TV transmissions and on-board footage. The three- to six-disc sets use the full functions of the DVD format; see a liftoff in six different angles (some remixed with 5.1 sound) or listen to a mixture of air-to-ground communications, official NASA narration, or post-flight debriefings, most often carefully synched to the exact moment of footage seen. Like any good research paper, every bit of footage may not be interesting, but taken as a chronicle of history, it's irreplaceable. The two-man Gemini missions are the forgotten cousin of the space program; Mercury (The Right Stuff) and Apollo (From the Earth to the Moon) have been chronicled in popular books and film for years. This 6-hour set rights the wrong, illustrating how the ambitious program (10 missions in 1965-66) developed most of the key attributes to go to the moon (including long-duration flight, space walking, rendezvous, and docking). Every single bit of onboard camera footage is here, and yes, that includes periods of fumbling cameras and poorly lit sequences. But it also allows for some of the most gorgeous space footage ever shot, starting with Ed White's Gemini 4 spacewalk (America's first), which one can now view in its entirety. Another high point is the rendezvous of flights 6 & 7, with a soundtrack that combines the air-to-ground communications and post-flight news conferences. Each mission is broken down with footage from the spacecraft preparation, launch, on-board film, and recovery. Unlike other Spacecraft sets, there's an original documentary, an hourlong survey of Gemini written by Andrew Chaikin (author of A Man on the Moon). The documentary certainly whets one's appetite for the rest of the set, but perhaps only the true space junky will want to watch footage from two unmanned missions, a lengthy look at the archaic instrumental panel, and a flight or two that seem like a repeat of a previous mission. --Doug Thomas&laquo less

Movie Reviews

Breathtaking footage honoring important space achievements

Stardazer | Greensboro, NC United States | 11/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a teenager I avidly followed the Gemini space program so decided to buy this, based on its contents. I can enthusiastically report that after decades of viewing snapshots and only fleeting, dim glimpses of film footage from the Gemini space program, this full length perspective was a real visual feast for me.

The Gemini DVD set features the Titan & Atlas Agena launches (viewed from several angles) and ALL of the film footage the astronauts shot on board. For instance, you get to see the entire Ed White space walk (except where he had drifted off camera) and watch extended scenes of the world's first space rendezvous. Even though this was taken some 40 years ago, it's still remarkable to review today. The extended length Ed White space walk was an even longer, jaw dropping segment than what was excerpted in the marvelous video, "For All Mankind." It was breathtaking to see him silhouetted against the blue sphere of the earth. It's as if you were there filming the scene, Ed in the foreground, the earth behind him.

This video set features all of the on board film for each mission the astronauts shot. A great surprise was watching the footage of Gemini VII "station keeping" with its upper stage booster rocket for a few orbits before it finally dropped away. The rendezvous between VI & VII was also documented with great interest. I have been moved to review these sequences again and again, they are that impressive.

Seeing footage of astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White, both fatalities on the Apollo I flash fire on January 27, 1967, brought them back into memory.

I could not believe the extended coverage, and that marvelously restored. Why up till now have we viewed substandard, grainy space shots only to find that Spacecraft Films has set the standard for restoring the images to near pristine integrity?

This was my first Spacecraft Films purchase. I'll be collecting more. I cannot think of a better way to honor the courage, ingenuity and hard work of those involved in the Gemini space program than to obtain and preserve such an outstanding record of their unpredcendented achievements as they happened. Wow!"

Box Description

R. Davis | Raleigh, NC | 03/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Project Gemini, A Bold Leap Forward - Box Description

PROJECT GEMINI - A BOLD LEAP FORWARD

From conception as the Mercury Mark II program through development and 12 successful flights, Project Gemini occupies a pivotal place in America's space history. For two years in the mid-1960's, 10 teams of astronauts not only went into space, but learned how to live and work there.

Through this original one-our program you'll come to know the challenges met by Gemini, the triumph of the achievement, and the hardship of danger.

========================DISK TWO - GT-1 THROUGH GEMINI VIIGemini was an experimental program, and was heavily documented both on the ground and in flight. From preparation to recovery, and extensive film record exists covering the Gemini achievements in detail.

For onboard photography, Gemini missions typically carried two 16 mm cameras. The cameras ran at 6 frames per second, and film was contain in 113-foot magazines. As the flight progressed, more and more film was carried, resulting in relatively little film being exposed on the early missions and a great deal being used on the later missions.

Some of the best Earth-orbital photography ever taken from space comes from the Gemini program and helped lead to advance our early understanding of remote sensing from orbit.

The Gemini ground film and onboards contained on disks 2 and 3 are arraigned by mission. Audio is from various sources, including commentary from press briefings and air to ground audio. Some portions are silent. Some on board magazines have a frame 'bounce" which has been corrected where possible.

Film speed has been adjusted to real time during activities, such as EVA and docking.

UNMANNED MISSIONSGT-1 April 8, 1964Demonstrate launch vehicle performance, launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity, and work in tracking and guidance network. Spacecraft was not recovered, so no film was exposed onboard. Features preparation and launch.

GT-II January 19, 1965Demonstrate reentry heat protection during maximum heating reentry. Launch and onboard film which includes footage of the Gemini spacecraft instrument panel and through-the-window photography during reentry.

========================DISK 3 - GEMINI VIII THROUGH GEMINI XIIWith the completion of the combined Gemini VI-A and Gemini VII missions, most of the major goals of the program had been achieved. EVA had been performed, rendezvous have been proven viable, and long duration space flights has been shown to be feasible. These capabilities would be expanded over the last 5 flights of the program, and new challenges would be discovered and overcome.

Gemini VIII conducted a rendezvous with its Agena target vehicle and the first successful docking in space. Shortly after docking, hoverer one of the Gemini spacecraft's maneuvering thrusters began an uncontrolled firing, placing the craft in a spin. The crew of Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott brought Gemini VIII down in an emergency landing in the Pacific.

On Gemini IX astronaut Gene Cernan found that walking in space is on thing, but working in space is quite another. After finding the space environment a very difficult work place, he overloaded the capability of his suit and fogged his visor. If man was to work in space, he must find new methods of working there.

Gemini X and XI worked to perfect rendezvous, docking and EVA techniques, but the difficulty of working in space did not begin to be solved until Gemini XII, when carefully crafted procedures and actions allowed Buzz Aldrin to conduct measured work outside the spacecraft.

The Gemini missions gave NASA extraordinary experience in working and living in space, and created a solid bridge to the voyages to come on Project Apollo.

"Ok, I'm a geek and really get into watching the raw footage of Gemini and Apollo. I do however watch some segments at 8x or even 16x, if there is no audio during the segment. Watching the Gemini capsule station keep and then dock to an Agena in real time or the film of the Gemini instrument panel is like watching grass grow. A less than hardcore fan will enjoy the project overview on disc 1 but may fall asleep watching the rest of the material.

Gemini is the red-headed step child of the early space program. But without it, we would have never made the 12-31-69 deadline for "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." Rendevouz, docking, extra vehicular activity, digital mission computers and fuel cells are only some of the accomplishments of the Gemini program that lead directly to the success of Apollo."

Best Spacecraft Films DVD I've seen yet

R. Hogue | Gulf Breeze, FL | 05/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutly the best one yet. More documentary oriented than the Apollo sets I've seen. Very well done !!!!!